The Murray State women’s basketball team is gearing up for its final two games of the season, with the first game taking place on Thursday against Valparaiso at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana. A win in both of their remaining games would secure the sixth-seed for the Racers in next week’s Hoops in the Heartland MVC Women’s Basketball Championship in Moline, Illinois.
In their last game against UNI, Murray State struggled to keep up with the Panthers and ultimately fell 76-46. Katelyn Young led the team with 14 points, while Alexis Burpo had seven rebounds.
Thursday’s game will mark the first-ever trip for the Racers to the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso. Murray State won the first meeting between the two teams on New Year’s Day in Murray with a score of 67-48.
Valparaiso is coming off a 78-49 loss to Illinois State and currently holds a 7-20 record on the season, with a 5-13 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. Ali Saunders leads the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game, followed by Olivia Brown and Leah Earnest at 10.4 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Earnest also leads Valpo in rebounds with 7.5 per game, while Illysse Pitts follows with 3.8 rebounds per game.
On average, Valparaiso scores 59.6 points per game on 41.2% shooting and collects 29.7 rebounds per game. Their opponents, on the other hand, score an average of 71.3 points per game on 44.1% shooting and collect 34.3 rebounds per game.
A win in Thursday’s game would be the first step in securing the sixth-seed for the Racers in the upcoming championship. They would also need to win against UIC on Saturday to achieve this goal.
Macey Turley, already the program’s all-time assist leader, is just two made 3-pointers away from passing Mariah Robinson and becoming the school’s all-time leader in the category. Additionally, Turley sank her 46th consecutive free throw on Saturday against UNI, breaking her own previous record of 45. The redshirt senior has not missed a free throw since December 3rd against Southern Indiana.
As the season comes to a close, the Murray State women’s basketball team looks to finish strong with two more wins to secure their spot in the championship. Fans of the Racers will be keeping a close eye on Turley as she looks to add to her impressive records.
